Becoming Essential

As I sit to write these words, 34 million Americans have become unemployed over the last 7 weeks—that’s 1 in every 5 workers.

Such pain, heartache, anxiety… I am so sorry for each of you.

Along the way, a new conversation began emerging in public discourse and policy: essential workers and non-essential workers.

Who is an essential worker and who is a non-essential worker? Which businesses and industries are essential and which are not?

Medical experts and political leaders debated these phrases in countless communities around the world—often times arriving at drastically different conclusions.

Regardless of how they ended classifying work in their jurisdiction, “essential” workers were allowed to continue, “non-essential” were asked to stay home.

I fear the fall-out from this type of designation and how “essential” workers have been heralded and praised in every community, while many “nonessential” workers have lost their livelihood at these seemingly arbitrary designations. In some cases, the work being accomplished was identical.

Let me offer some thoughts if you are hurting.

First of all, if you are an essential worker and have been putting yourself out there for our society, thank you. If you have been stocking shelves, driving trucks, packing food, or responding first, thank you for the incredibly hard work and extra hours you have been putting in over the last 7-8 weeks.

But equally important, if your work or business has been classified as nonessential, please know your work is essential to us—even if not classified as such by some.

In almost every case, your work is needed, your talent is appreciated, and your dedication to serving others is required for all of us. Your work, by definition, makes us a better people and a better society. You are essential. And I hope you are back to work soon.

If you think the rush for toilet paper was bad, wait until 300 million Americans try to schedule a haircut at the same time.

And lastly, please know, your work may have been deemed nonessential, but your life is not. You are essential to somebody, every day.

Comments

However during this global pandemic crisis lost jobs no school anxiety poverty these are eventual consequences. Thus term “Essentials” refers to “basics” in the context of Covid-19 It is just the choice of word. It is aiming at minimal spread of virus so. We all are essential and no one can take that title away from us.

YES, so TRUE that there are unintended consequences to classifying our work in these ways. I am in Ohio and I have appreciated the “public service” announcements that communicate that we are ALL IN THIS TOGETHER. We are all sacrificing for the greater good of one another, but in different ways.

And my prayer has been and will be that we can reimagine new ways for the good work that we do. I pray that the entrepreneurial spirit in so many Americans will take steps of faith to create new ways of offering goods and services in beautiful and safe ways as we fight this pandemic.

And I pray that we can also imagine a new economy that leads us away from mindless consumerism. I pray we can value the people in our supply chains and the meaningful work that they do.

As a “working artmaker and art educator”, my career-role in society has ALWAYS been deemed as “non-essential”. Just look at the number of primary and secondary public education institutions that have cut “the arts” from their programming over the past decade. However, in our current pandemic, I’m amazed (and blessed) with the number of requests requesting virtual art classes for their kiddos and for themselves! The arts are proven essential to the development of “soft skillsets” (critical thinking and creative problem-solving). In other words, they are the building blocks to teaching our children how to THINK! Perhaps this is the shift in the validity of how the arts can and do hold a place setting as essential.

My Father used to tell me that if you put a smile
on someone’s face you’ve had a good day. With
all of this going on,I’ve thought a lot about this lately.
I have to keep reminding myself that it’s not all about me.

Thanks for this very thoughtful article. I believe that
I’m going to do some volunteering this week !

Amen, Joshua. Each of us has dignity and worth. The entering of “essential worker” and “non-essential worker” into our daily speech has scary, unintended consequences. Maybe some jobs will have to be modified in the near future, but that shouldn’t detract from each person’s worth. God made everyone essential.

It’s all essential, and sometimes you don’t realize until it isn’t there Whether I do business someplace or not, it’s essential to someone. This forced shutter of our economy and assault on our liberty are draconian.

Thank you very much for that post. As a violinist in a Symphony Orchestra in the UK, I am definitely non essential and as such have been furloughed. Life for most of the population has become very basic in the last two months, with people concentrating mainly on following the government’s instructions and staying alive. I worry that it will be difficult for us as a society to return to allowing ourselves to enjoy things like life music and theatre without worrying about catching germs from other audience members. My colleagues are generally much more optimistic about the future and I suspect and hope I’m just being pessimistic. I hope people will return to enjoying all the good things in life before they lose them.
On the plus side, I’ve had time to read your book and minimize my house. Great book.

Kate, you and your colleagues are essential to me. I have missed nothing more these weeks/months than my Chamber Music concerts: Rachel Barton Pine, the Pacifica Quartet, Anthony McGill, on and on, all cancelled. Only 2 of this season’s concerts actually took place, and who knows what/whether/when next season will be. Listening to recorded or streaming music is fine, but nothing, absolutely nothing, will ever replace the experience of a live performance by artists like you in front of an eager and appreciative audience. Please know that we miss you and passionately await your return.

Thank you, Joshua, for your post this morning! As a schoolteacher, I’m not essential, but to my students with whom I work, I know I am! :) Please keep all of those at home in thoughts and prayers. Thank you again!

Joshua- So true. You are such a kind, empathetic and compassionate person. Every one is “essential“ to someone. It’s just like the throwing away of people as they get older. This particular problem has shown me how people in this country truly view aging and when you reach a certain number your value, or use seems to go down.

There are plenty of “essential “ workers who aren’t “heralded” and “allowed” to work – they’re FORCED to work and put in danger.

If you’re “essential “ you can’t be furloughed in the U.K. One of the worst things I saw at the start of the pandemic here was ASDA at 6am and watching the unprotected staff desperately trying to do their jobs as 100s and 100s swarmed about and pushed them over & screamed in their faces.

In America, essential workers are a majority black and Latino. They also make up the majority of the cases and the majority of the deaths. Think it’s a coincidence?

I’m a non-essential worker. I manage a jazz club- it’s a luxury and non-essential as a business. So, sadly, are the musicians who play there. We’re all still far luckier than an essential meat packer on minimum wage.

They ARE essential. I don’t believe that by classifying them thus, we should have any hurt feelings about ourselves. The one doesn’t diminish the other. Maybe instead we should be rethinking how we treat them and pay them.

Here in the U.S., I am thinking of and fearful for the workers in the meatpacking plants. Dangerous work in the best of times, potentially fatal in these times. Laying your life and your family’s safety on the line so someone can buy a cheap hamburger at a drive-thru.

THANK YOU – 100% agreed. There has to be some way to designate the category of workers who unfortunately can’t stay home right now, because society can’t afford to lose their services even for a moment (who are putting themselves at great risk, and often have no choice), and those who can and should stay home for the moment, for the greater good, despite the sacrifice that entails. Music feeds the soul, but people will not literally starve or die if the symphony does not perform. The best and most accurate way to describe the classification of worker whose actions fall in the category of literally life-and-death vital – and yes, grocery store workers fall in this category – is “essential.” Pretending the fact that not all workers are being declared “essential” by this narrow definition is some sort of insult is ridiculous and counterproductive.

Thank you for this beautiful message. Every worker is essential, not only because of the trickle effect their work has on the vendors who support them and the customers they serve, but also because their income allows them, in turn, to support others. God bless us all as we move through these very challenging times.

Great post Joshua.
My son works for a company that builds luxury boats.
Of course most of us live our lives without one quite happily.
Therefore not an essential commodity.
However, he has a wife and a two year old son and a 6 month old daughter.
Providing for them is essential.
They did shut for a while, now going back in stages.
I’m grateful that his job can be done at home mostly.
My heart goes out to those less fortunate.

I don’t think anyone without children or a spouse was overlooked in this post…Seven examples were given at the end of this post – two of the seven were directed at having a spouse or a child while the other five were not…You are not being treated like you are invisible or nonessential…I mean this in the most respectful and encouraging way possible…

Couldnt agree more. In the UK the emphasis has been on the NHS. Although being a nurse myself I understand how important they are, but it has lead to inequality of resources and divisions. Those of us in care homes left forgotten about, when now the true picture is emerging. For us at work the essential worker was the taxi company who deliveried bread, milk and eggs for free and the corner shop who went out of their way to get us stuff for our residents.
Everyones important xx